Elevated tramway



y 23, 9- c. F. BLEDSOE 1,721,684

ELEVATED TRAIWAY Filed March 3, 1927 5?; Carl F fi/edsoe 3 QQQ.Q.'@' E Patented July 23, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARL F. IBLEIDSOE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO OGLE CONSTRUCTION 00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ELEVATED TRAMWAY.

Application filed March 3, 1927.

This invention relates to elevated tram cars of that type which receive material at one point and automatically dump it at another point and concerns itself with novel operating means whereby the doors of the tram car may be automatically opened at any one of a plurality of dumping stations.

The invention comprises the novel structure and combinations of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out and delincd in the appended claims.

in the accompanying, drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of this invention and in which similar reference numerals refer to similar features in the different views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an elevated tram car structure embodying this invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same.

Figure 8 is a fr gmentary elevational view illustrating a modi led structure.

As illustrative of this invention, there is shown a pair of spaced rails 1, which comprise a track, which may be supported in any suitable manner at the required elevation. These rails afford a support for a tram car 5 which is in the form of a skip bucket having slop iug ends 6 connected to parallel sides 7. Upon each end of the tram car adjacent the upper end thereof there is secured an axle 8 by means of bearing brackets S) attached to the ends of the tram car. Flanged wheels 10 are mounted upon the axles S for traveling movements upon the rails 1 in a manner similar to the wheels of a railroad car.

The bottom of the tram car is closed by a pair of doors 11 and 12. The door 12 has a pair of lateral upstanding arms 13 pivoted to the sides of the tram car at 14. The door 11 is liltev-xise provided with a pair of lateral arms ,1 which are likewise pivoted upon pivots 11 upon the sides of the tram car. Above the pivots let. the arms 13 and 15 slope toward each other, the arm 15 being provided with a slot 16 in its sloping portion for slidable eng'ement with the piutle of a roller 17 which is secured upon the upper end of the arm 13.

A lower side rail or longitudinal support 18 has been provided upon which pulleys 19 are supported by means of brackets 20 attached to the bottom of the rail 18. These pulleys are connected by an endless cable 23. The axis of one of the pulleys 19 is connected Serial No. 172,255.

to a reversible motor which is controlled by a rheostat 26. By operating the motor the tram car will be drawn in one direction for receiving the load. Then by reversing the motor the tram car will be drawn in the other direction for dumping the load.

The lower side rail 18 is provided with a cam plate 21 which is located at the loading station. This cam plate 21 has an upper horizontal face 22 which is of such a height that the roller 17 will just pass thereover. This cam plate 21 on account of its engagement with the roller 17 will prevent the doors of the tram car from being opened while in loading position.

The doors of the tram car are connected with a cable in such a manner that they may be automatically opened when the tram car is brought to a sudden stop for unloading purposes. It will be appreciated that in the use of this apparatus it may be desirable to unload coal or the like at a number of unloading points. To this end the cable 23 carries a slotted connection in its upper reach. The slot of this connection 24 receives a stud 27 on the rear door 12. The purpose of the slot is to provide a certain amount of lost motion to prevent the breaking of the doors during op, eration. Of course, it will be understood that the cable structure may be duplicated on both sides of the tram car if necessary or desirable.

In the operation of this device it will be assumed that the tram car is being drawn to the right through'the instrumentality of the endless cable which tends to maintain the doors in closed position during its forward traveling movements. However, when the motor is suddenly stopped when the tram car reaches the desired unloading station. the momentum of the car will cause it to continue its movement. During this continued movement of the car, the door 12 will beheld by the cable 23. Consequently, the doors will be automatically opened by this continued movement of the car for unloading the same; there being sufficient flexibility in the upper reach of the cable and suflicient lost motion to allow for the arcuate movement of the stud 27 during the opening of the doors. After the tram car has been unloaded the motor may be reversed for conveying the tram car to its loading station during which movement the doors may be open and when the roller 17 engages the top of the cam plate 21 at the loading station the doors will be automatically closed if they have not been closed during the rearward traveling movements of the tram car.

In the structure shown in Figure 1, the car may be dumped at a plurality of unloading stations. However, if there should be only one unloading station, a cam plate 3 with sloping ends 4 may be secured to the track 1 at the unloading station so that when the tram car reaches the unloading station the roller 17 will engage the rear edgeof the cam plate 3 and ride downwardly upon the horizontal surface 2 for automatically opening the doors of the tram car at the unloading station.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a novel form of elevated tram car structure has been provided in which the tram car may be automatically stopped and dumped at any one of a plurality of different dumping stations whereby a great deal of time and labor may be saved. It will be appreciated that such an apparatus is Very convenient when extended over a plurality of railroad tracks for supplying coal to the loading or storage hoppers for engines.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purpose limitingthe patent granted hereon, otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a tramway, a track, a tram car supported upon said track, said tram car having an open bottom, a pair of doors for closing said bottom, said doors having lateral arms pivoted to the sides of the car and being slidably inter-connected above their pivot points, an endless cable connected to one of said doors and means for operating said endless cable.

2. In a tramway, a track, a tram car supported upon said track, said tram car having a pair of interconnected swinging doors, means extending horizontally adjacent the bottom of the car and directly connected to one of said doors and operable for drawing said tram car backwards and forwards, said doors being automatically opened when said means is brought to a sudden stop by the advance movement of the car relative to said means.

8. In atramway, a track, a tram car supported on said track and movable from a loading station to any one of a plurality of unloading stations, said tram car embodying a closure, means at the loading station cooperating with said closure for maintaining the same in closed position, and means extending horizontally adjacent the bottom of the car and directly connected to said closure for drawing said tram car to one of its unloading stations, the sudden stopping of said means at said unloading station causing relative movement between said car and closure for opening said closure for dumping the contents of said tram car.

4. In a tramway, a track, a tram car supported upon said track, said tram car having an open bottom, a pair of doors for closing said bottom, said doors having lateral arms pivoted to the sides of the tram car, said arms extending above their pivot points and being inter-connected, a cable having a lost motion connection with one of said doors for operating said tram car for the purpose set forth.

5. In a tramway, a track, a tram car upon said track, said tram car having bottom doors with lateral arms pivoted to the sides thereof and slidably; interconnected above their pivot points, a stud on one door and a cable having a slotted member engaging said stud for thepurpose, set forth.

6. In a tramway, a track, a tram car upon said track, and embodying a pair of bottom doors with lateral arms pivoted to the sides thereof and slidably and pivotally interconnected above their pivot points, a stud on one door, an endless cable supported adjacent the bottom of said doors and having a lost motion connection with said stud for the purpose set forth.

7. In a tramway, a track, a tram car upon said track, said car having a pair of interconnected doors adapted to be simultaneously opened and closed, one door being rearwardly of the other door, a longitudinally movable cable adjacent the bottom of said car, a stud on the rear door connected to said cable whereby a forward movement of said car relative to said cable will open said doors.

8. In a tramway, a track, a tram car supported upon said track, said tram car having a closure, a cable adjacent the bottom of said car and directly connected to said closure, and means for operating said cable in a horizontal direction and suddenly stopping the same whereby the car will move relative to said cable for opening said closure.

9. In a tramway, a track, a car upon said track, said car having a pair of interconnected doors adapted to be simultaneouly opened and closed, a cable extending horizontally adjacent the bottom of the car and directly attached to the rear door whereby the advancing pull upon the cable will tend to close said doors, and the momentumof the car upon a sudden stopping of the cable will cause a relative movement of said car and cable for automatically opening said doors.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

CARL F. BLEDSOE. 

